K-Drama for Healing

EJAE: The Voice Behind Rumi, the Songwriter Behind “Golden,” and Why Rejection Became Her Redirection

Have you ever worked toward something for years, only to hear that you were not quite good enough? Maybe it was a job, a school, a role, or a dream you never said out loud. Most of us carry at least one of those quiet "no" moments. EJAE (also written Ejae) carried hers for more than a decade. Then, in a single awards season, the voice she had once been told was not enough became one of the most heard voices in the world.

Last updated: October 2026, after the Oscar, Grammy and Golden Globe wins for "Golden" and Netflix's sequel announcement.

Who Is EJAE

EJAE was born Kim Eun-jae (김은재) on December 6, 1991, in Seoul. She spent much of her early childhood in New Jersey, then moved back to Seoul around age eight and attended an international school.

At 11, in 2003, she became a trainee at SM Entertainment, one of Korea's biggest music agencies. A trainee is a young hopeful who spends years in singing and dance lessons before a company decides whether they will debut. EJAE trained for close to ten years. The debut never came, either in a group or as a solo singer. She stepped away, finished her studies at New York University, and slowly rebuilt her life in music from the other side of the studio glass: as a songwriter.

Today she is a singer, songwriter and producer based in the United States. Most people know her as the singing voice of Rumi in the Netflix animated film KPop Demon Hunters, and as a co-writer of its hit song "Golden." What people notice first is her voice: bright, clear and strong at the top, with a slight ache underneath. What they notice next is her story, because she tells it plainly and without bitterness.

Where to Start, Depending on What You Want

Every Major Song and Screen Project, Newest First

"Time After Time" (2026, solo single)

Released in early February 2026 through Universal Music, just days after her Grammy win. It is a heartbreak song about someone who lingers in your mind long after the relationship is over. EJAE has said the melody stayed in her head for years, much like the person she wrote it about. Why listen: it shows she can carry a song alone, without the film's spectacle around her.

"In Another World" (2025, solo debut single)

Released on October 24, 2025, this was her first single under her own name, more than twenty years after she first walked into a training room. It is a yearning, gentle song. For anyone who followed her story, simply seeing her name as the main artist felt like a small victory.

KPop Demon Hunters (2025, Netflix, singing voice of Rumi)

Released on Netflix on June 20, 2025. EJAE sings for Rumi, leader of the fictional girl group HUNTR/X, alongside Audrey Nuna (Mira) and Rei Ami (Zoey). She co-wrote and recorded many of the early demo songs, and director Maggie Kang has said those demos helped get the film approved. The directors then asked her to become Rumi's official singing voice. She is a co-writer of four songs in the film: "Golden," "How It's Done" and "What It Sounds Like," which she also sings with HUNTR/X, and "Your Idol," which is sung by the rival boy band Saja Boys. Every song in the film was a team effort, so each of these has several co-writers. She also sings the duet "Free" with Andrew Choi, though she is not credited as one of its writers. Andrew Choi is the singing voice of the demon idol Jinu (whose speaking voice is Ahn Hyo-seop).

How it was received: "Golden" reached No. 1 on the Billboard Hot 100. Over the 2026 awards season it won the Critics Choice Award, the Golden Globe, the Grammy for Best Song Written for Visual Media (the first K-pop song ever to win a Grammy) and the Academy Award for Best Original Song (the first K-pop song to be nominated for an Oscar, and the first to win). The film itself also won Best Animated Feature at the Oscars and Best Animated Motion Picture at the Golden Globes.

EJAE has said she felt deeply connected to Rumi, a girl hiding a part of herself while performing for the world. She once said "Golden" meant so much to her because, at that point in her life, she needed a song like that.

aespa, "Drama" (2023, co-producer)

The title track of aespa's fourth mini-album. aespa's music is built around a futuristic, almost game-like world, and the job here was to fit that world while still giving listeners a hook they could not shake. She also worked on aespa's "Armageddon."

Red Velvet and other SM artists (2019 onward)

After "Psycho," SM Entertainment kept giving her assignments, including more work for Red Velvet. Over the years her credits have also included songs with TWICE, NMIXX, LE SSERAFIM, Taeyeon and FIFTY FIFTY.

Woman of 9.9 Billion OST, "Take It Slow" (2019–20, KBS2)

EJAE sang "Take It Slow" for the soundtrack of this KBS2 crime drama. An OST (original soundtrack) is a song written for a Korean drama and played during key scenes. For K-drama fans, it is a lovely way to hear her voice years before the world knew her name.

Red Velvet, "Psycho" (2019, co-writer)

Her breakthrough. EJAE attended her first SM Entertainment songwriting camp in 2017, and that path led to co-writing "Psycho," released at the end of 2019. It topped the Billboard World Digital Song Sales chart and became one of Red Velvet's signature songs. Why it matters: the agency that never debuted her as a singer gave her the first big hit of her writing career.

Monster OST (2016, MBC)

One of her earliest credits, a duet on the soundtrack of the MBC drama Monster, recorded during the years when she was still finding her way back to music.

What She Is Working On Now

The Thread Running Through Her Work

EJAE does not have a list of acting roles, so the thread here runs through her songs and the choices behind them. It is patience that was never passive.

Look at "Psycho." She wrote it for the company that once decided she would not debut. She did not walk away from that world in anger; she walked back in through a different door and quietly wrote one of its best songs.

Look at "Golden." She has said she needed a song like that at the time she wrote it. A woman who had waited years to be heard wrote a song about a girl who is finally ready to be seen, and then sang it herself.

Look at "Time After Time." Even her solo music is built on things that stayed with her for years: a melody she could not let go of, a feeling that would not leave.

And look at the gap between her first audition at 11 and her first solo single at 33. That is twenty-two years. She was not waiting for those years. She was studying, writing for other people and working in rooms where nobody knew her name.

That is why her story fits so naturally on a blog about healing through Korean drama. It reminds me of Jang Geu-rae in Misaeng, the young man who failed to become a professional baduk player and had to start again in an office where he was the least qualified person in the room. Neither of them got the life they first planned. Both used what the first dream taught them to build a second one. For a mother in her fifties wondering whether it is too late to try something new, and for a daughter in her twenties afraid her first failure is final, EJAE's story says the same thing: the first "no" is rarely the last word.

The Speech That Turned Rejection Into Redirection

On January 11, 2026, "Golden" won Best Original Song at the 83rd Golden Globe Awards. EJAE became the first Korean-American to win in that category. She walked to the microphone already in tears.

She did not open with a list of agents and managers. She went straight back to the little girl who trained for ten years for one dream, and who was told her voice was not good enough. She said she leaned on songs to get through that disappointment, and that this was why she now stood there as both a singer and a songwriter. Then she thanked the Golden Globes for "accepting my voice and our voice."

The line that traveled around the world came next. She dedicated the award to people who have had doors closed on them, and said: "I can confidently say rejection is redirection." She told the room never to give up, and closed by borrowing a line from "Golden" itself about it never being too late to shine.

Why "rejection is redirection" landed so hard

Many speeches say "never give up." Hers worked because the proof was standing at the microphone. The company that never debuted her as a singer later became the place where she broke through as a writer. The voice that was turned down became the voice of a lead character watched by hundreds of millions of people.

The phrase does not pretend that rejection does not hurt. It changes what the "no" means. A stop sign tells you that you are finished. A detour sign tells you that the road continues somewhere else. EJAE's life is a long detour that ended up exactly where she once wanted to go, just not by the road she first chose.

The award she gave away

The second part of her speech mattered just as much. By saying the award belonged to people who have had doors closed on them, she turned a private victory into something shared. It was a quiet way of saying, "I know where you are, because I stood there too."

How to use her words in your own life

Questions People Actually Ask

Is EJAE the voice of Rumi?

She is Rumi's singing voice. Rumi's speaking voice is Arden Cho. Several characters in KPop Demon Hunters have one actor for speaking and a different singer for songs.

Did EJAE write "Golden" by herself?

No. "Golden" was co-written by EJAE, Mark Sonnenblick, 24, IDO and Teddy. EJAE and Sonnenblick accepted the Golden Globe together, and the song is performed by EJAE, Audrey Nuna and Rei Ami as HUNTR/X.

Did EJAE ever debut as a K-pop idol?

No. She trained at SM Entertainment for close to ten years starting in 2003 but was never given a debut. She talks about this openly, and it is the heart of her Golden Globe speech.

What did EJAE say in her Golden Globe speech?

She spoke about being rejected as a trainee, said music helped her through it, dedicated the award to people who have had doors closed on them, and said "rejection is redirection." The full speech is short and worth watching on the Golden Globes' official channels.

Will EJAE be in the KPop Demon Hunters sequel?

Not officially confirmed yet. Netflix has announced the sequel and the directors are returning. EJAE has said she hopes to be part of it. This answer will be updated when casting is announced.

Is EJAE the same person as EJae from the band Leenalchi?

No. This confuses many people searching in Korean. EJae (이재) of the Korean band Leenalchi is a different musician, a bassist and singer-songwriter. The EJAE behind "Golden" is Kim Eun-jae.

Where can I watch KPop Demon Hunters?

It is a Netflix original film. Streaming availability can differ by country, so please check Netflix in your own region.

How old is EJAE?

EJAE was born on December 6, 1991. She began training at SM Entertainment in 2003, at age 11, and released her first solo single in October 2025.

Where Her Story Goes Next

EJAE spent the first half of her career behind other people's voices. Now she is stepping out with her own songs, while a sequel to the film that changed her life is being built. Wherever her music goes from here, she has already given millions of people a phrase to hold onto on a hard day.

Is there a "no" in your life that later turned out to be a redirection? Or are you standing in front of a closed door right now? Share your story in the comments. Your words might be exactly what another reader needs today.


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Samie | contact@kdramaforhealing.com

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